Because I am That Kind Of Person, I typed "Friendship" into the search bar on Wikipedia and immediately looked at the dropdown menu of suggestions. And I see this:
Because writers feed on flaws and conflict, and because a great way to make some is to have a character go in cockeyed, I was looking up cognitive biases. This one caught my eye:
As when a griffin through the wilderness With wingèd course o'er hill or moory dale, Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth Had from his wakeful custody purloined The guarded gold:
lines 943-947, Book 2, Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667)
IT SAID "WHO BY STEALTH"
Right Here,Right Now by Impossible Numbers (2022)
Blog Number 180: "A Goldmine of Info" Edition
Well, while I'm waiting to see how my writing strategy pays off long-term, I thought I'd try my hand at blogging on a wider variety of topics - or at least more often - than I used to. So this is kind of an experiment*.
* Experiment: noun. "something I will bail on the minute it goes pear-shaped".
Starting with a Creature Feature: the mythological rivals of griffons...
See, I was going to point to the classical origins of the Arimaspian myth, but I see a couple of blogs nearer the time have beaten me to it, so why not? Here, let me quote them in their perfect words and acknowledge their contribution to the fandom memory because it's lazy, and I'm just one step away from plagiarism without technically doing it, nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah.
Incidentally, I would kindly recommend checking out these blog posts for more details of associated interest and because I don't want any axes in my head.
The Arimaspi: They come from the original Greek legend of the Griffons, as a Scythian-like tribe of cyclops-like creatures who warred with the Griffons over gold. Classical bonus -- since the Scythians lived north of Thrace, and Thrace was the land of the god Boreas, the Arimaspi (and presumably also the Griffons) could both be said to have lived in "Hyperborea," which is the likely land of the Griffon Kingdom in this episode. The episode speaks of Arimaspi as a singular monster; I think it makes more sense if this is the leader of a monstrous race, as in Herodotus.
Oh yeah, real monstrous-looking. "Has anyone seen my glasses?"
In case you, like me, were wondering where the hell Scythia is and whether or not it has anything to do with scythes: firstly, Scythia was the empire of a race of horseback nomads in Central Asia during the time of classical antiquity (ancient Greco-Roman times), so most of Russia would have lain to the north, pretty much the edge of the known world back then; and secondly, no, "scythe" is descended from Germanic tongues, not Latin or Greek ones. Total coincidence.
Hint: the big country up north is Russia.
The Herodotus reference is - insofar as the adjective applies to these obscurities - probably the most famous of references to the Arimaspi. Wikipedia quotes it thus:
This Aristeas, possessed by Phoibos, visited the Issedones; beyond these (he said) live the one-eyed Arimaspoi, beyond whom are the Grypes that guard gold, and beyond these again the Hyperboreoi, whose territory reaches to the sea. Except for the Hyperboreoi, all these nations (and first the Arimaspoi) are always at war with their neighbors.[2]
Funnily enough, "The Hooffields and McColts" was only fifteen eps away from "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone".
So Arimaspi's appearance in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" as the thieving enemy of the Griffon Kingdom has a very ancient precedent. What I find interesting is the "traveller's tales" nature of the "Arimaspoi" as a race of cyclopes*, something which reminds me of all those weird Medieval bestiaries and Ancient Greek tales of body horror beings. Like the akephaloi (headless men), the monopods (one-foots**), and the pygmaioi (pygmies).
** Maybe that's the plural? "One-feet" just sounds weird to me.
Incidentally, Jordan179 compares Grampa Gruff with Grunkle Stan of Gravity Falls. Now, I personally would not invest too much into this comparison, as a skeptical -
"Gimme bits."
"Gimme bits."
Holy mother of merchandising! The multiverse is true! It's "Wax Museum" all over again!
Gryphons love ore, especially gold. Pliny from a while back claimed they laid eggs in nests of gold, but it's generally agreed that they would help protect mines and tombs from thieves.
Their mortal enemies were the Arimaspi, a race of one eyed horseback warriors who looted from the gryphons and clashed frequently. They also lived near the cave of Boreas, the god of the north wind. If this sounds familiar, imagine how giddy I was when they referenced it.
The mention of the cave of Boreas is interesting, and not just for the reference to Greco-Roman geography. Look at this map of Equestria (2015 edition):
Note that the Arimaspi Territory is in the southern part of southwest Equestria, yet Griffonstone is located to the far east across the Celestial Sea.
So either the Arimaspi/Griffon territories were more expansive historically (say, large enough to border one another), or Arimaspi himself travelled across jungle, badlands, swamp, and open water solely to steal one idol. To say nothing of climbing a mountain at the end. And that's before the big fight scene.
Geez, and we thought Gollum was obsessed.
Making this even odder is another etymological relic. In the Griffon Kingdom, there lie the Hyperborean Mountains. While this works as a nod to Ancient Greek geography and mythology, "Hyperborean" translates to "extreme north". It clearly isn't, not in PonyWorld. Otherwise, what does that make Bug Bear Territory, the Hyperhyperborean?
Then again, the map and the literal word of canon are inconsistent too. Twilight instructs Rainbow and Pinkie thus: "Upon arriving in Griffon Gorge, be sure to pause and cast your eyes northerly, up the Hyperborean Mountains, taking in the breathtaking beauty of Griffonstone." The map actually places Griffonstone proper south of the station, so if they arrived in Griffon Gorge and cast their eyes northerly, they should see only mountains and maybe some of the arctic* snow.
* In case it's not clear, I'm using this as a synonym for northern icy region, not our real-world example. Maybe it has polar bugbears in it? I dunno.
The greatest threat to the polar bugbear: global heartwarming.
This does fit quite neatly into the unspoken parallels between PonyWorld geography and real-world geography. If Equestria roughly stands in for America and if we completely ignore Europe then it actually makes sense to place the Griffon Kingdom and therefore put Arimaspi's act of theft to the far east overseas, roughly central to the continent, where Scythia would have been historically. It works even better if you treat Equestria as a parallel to the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, simply because then Griffonstone and the Griffon Kingdom become the edge of their known world. It's a tidy little comparison.
Still doesn't explain why Arimaspi Territory is so wildly off. I dunno. Maybe the Arimaspians meant to build it closer and mucked up the distance. Maps must be hard reading for a one-eyed species.
You see!? This is why you never developed a civilization, you cyclopic little simpleton! Just get a second eye and stop being difficult!
Interestingly enough, the fandom wiki dubs the species "cyclops", presumably because it'd sound odd to call Arimaspi an "Arimaspian" (though I think it could be used well enough as an in-universe name origin, with the species named after the individual). They also provide this detail as to how the traditionally humanoid creature gained his distinctive animalistic appearance in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone":
Arimaspi is based on the cyclopes of Greek mythology, while his name is taken from a mythological race of people who warred with griffons over their gold. Because human characters couldn't appear in the show, Rebecca Dart stated in My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria that she made Arimaspi a half-mountain goat, half-mountain gorilla creature to ensure he "worked within the pony world". As revealed in The Art of My Little Pony The Movie, a scrapped prologue for the film involved an Arimaspi king.
That last part raises the intriguing possibility that an Arimaspian was planned to fill the villain role of the Storm King. Or I might just be overinterpreting, as the page doesn't mention what specifically the "Arimaspi king" was going to do in said prologue.
And lastly, what has the fandom done with it?
Apparently, not much. Three fics as of this posting have it somewhere in their description, totalling between them 9,595 words.
🤷 Ah, well. Gilded extravagance aside, Arimaspi did basically serve as a backstory plot device for one ep that had griffons in it. No chance, basically.
"Alas, poor Ari: I knew him well."
"So what was he like?"
"..."
"He didn't talk much."
Well, that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed today's Creature Feature. Till next time: Impossible Numbers, out.
That last part raises the intriguing possibility that an Arimaspian was planned to fill the villain role of the Storm King. Or I might just be overinterpreting, as the page doesn't mention what specifically the "Arimaspi king" was going to do in said prologue.
A fair few prologue ideas like this showing the Storm King getting his staff were tossed around (one had him fashioning it from a Tree of Harmony, though not the one we know), but evidently Hasbro felt they were too moody and fantasy/lore-leaning for their target audience and toyetic preferences/demands, and slanted the film in the direction of not explaining anything about its lore or villains. I mean, it's no accident the Mane 6's sea pony transformations got by far the most attention out of anything in the film, that's fully toddler-safe…!
Oh, great blog series idea, buddy, looking forward to more!
Incidentally, Jordan179 compares Grampa Gruff with Grunkle Stan of Gravity Falls. Now, I personally would not invest too much into this comparison, as a skeptical -
Holy mother of merchandising! The multiverse is true! It's "Wax Museum" all over again!
Now look what you've done! You've exposed the secret! Is that what you want?
Crossover episodes featuring Gabby scarfing down illegal hallucinaginic candy and riding Trogdor esc dolphins? Gallus being a giant dweeb with a crush on Gilda?
(Wait, we could see Discord stepping into the role of Bill Cipher and receive a permanent petrifying.
Why am I complaining? Bring on the crossovers!)
You see!? This is why you never developed a civilization, you cyclopic little simpleton! Just get a second eye and stop being difficult!
"I went to college!"-Plankton as he robs you blind.
Ah, Jordan179. A man of infinite headcanon. I miss him.
I remember him from way back, during the early-mid seasons of the show. I was surprised when I found out he hadn't been on-site for over a year. He just seems to have disappeared.
Still, looking forward to further instances of this. Should be a lot of fun.
This'll be on an "as and when I fancy it" basis rather than any kind of schedule. Plus, I got a few other ideas I'd like to try out sometime. We'll just have to wait and see.
Not quite: dunno how it wasn't stated on the wiki, but via both interviews and the Art Of book, that scrapped prologue involved The Storm King seizing the Staff of Sacanas from an Arimaspi King.
Yes, that wiki really needs to quote its sources more accurately. For one thing, this is the sort of clarifying detail I could have used when making the blog post.
but evidently Hasbro felt they were too moody and fantasy/lore-leaning for their target audience and toyetic preferences/demands, and slanted the film in the direction of not explaining anything about its lore or villains.
The 2017 film really feels like a missed opportunity, in some respects, and in these respects in particular. The moody, fantasy/lore-leaning angle sounds much bolder and more engaging, at least to me.
How did I miss that announcement? I was still around at the time; I feel I should have remembered that.
I'm sorry to have to learn Jordan179 is gone. A moment ago, I was hoping he'd merely temporarily left and might come back sometime. This is horribly unexpected. I never like it when I learn one of us has passed away. It just shouldn't happen. And on top of that, we lose out on so much more potential too.
Well, for now, I can only think to say, "May he rest in peace", and that doesn't seem enough in the grand scheme of things. Thank you for telling me, at least.
5679242 Yeah the movie was just wasted potential in general. It does make me wonder what the direction of the plot would have been if the writers had free reign.
Ah, Jordan179. A man of infinite headcanon. I miss him.
Still, looking forward to further instances of this. Should be a lot of fun.
Not quite: dunno how it wasn't stated on the wiki, but via both interviews and the Art Of book, that scrapped prologue involved The Storm King seizing the Staff of Sacanas from an Arimaspi King. There's actually concept art for this, and it's both gorgeous and quite foreboding:
cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/017/075/031/large/luke-buxton-bef-trollfortress-interior03-concept-v001-lab.jpg?1554540490
cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/017/075/029/large/luke-buxton-bef-trollfortress-interior-concept-v003-lab.jpg?1554540486
A fair few prologue ideas like this showing the Storm King getting his staff were tossed around (one had him fashioning it from a Tree of Harmony, though not the one we know), but evidently Hasbro felt they were too moody and fantasy/lore-leaning for their target audience and toyetic preferences/demands, and slanted the film in the direction of not explaining anything about its lore or villains. I mean, it's no accident the Mane 6's sea pony transformations got by far the most attention out of anything in the film, that's fully toddler-safe…!
Oh, great blog series idea, buddy, looking forward to more!
Now look what you've done! You've exposed the secret! Is that what you want?
Crossover episodes featuring Gabby scarfing down illegal hallucinaginic candy and riding Trogdor esc dolphins? Gallus being a giant dweeb with a crush on Gilda?
(Wait, we could see Discord stepping into the role of Bill Cipher and receive a permanent petrifying.
Why am I complaining? Bring on the crossovers!)
"I went to college!"-Plankton as he robs you blind.
5679241
I remember him from way back, during the early-mid seasons of the show. I was surprised when I found out he hadn't been on-site for over a year. He just seems to have disappeared.
This'll be on an "as and when I fancy it" basis rather than any kind of schedule. Plus, I got a few other ideas I'd like to try out sometime. We'll just have to wait and see.
5679242
Yes, that wiki really needs to quote its sources more accurately. For one thing, this is the sort of clarifying detail I could have used when making the blog post.
The 2017 film really feels like a missed opportunity, in some respects, and in these respects in particular. The moody, fantasy/lore-leaning angle sounds much bolder and more engaging, at least to me.
5679249
Regrettably, Jordan appears to have passed on.
5679247
"All according to plan..." - Bill Cipher, 2022
I mean, "bring on the crossover" was essentially Bill's plan anyway, wasn't it?
Since when do thieves need a degree?
5679251
It also serves as the window dressing for Discord's various themes as well.
It helps if you deal in mad science or influence peddling.
5679250
Oh God.
How did I miss that announcement? I was still around at the time; I feel I should have remembered that.
I'm sorry to have to learn Jordan179 is gone. A moment ago, I was hoping he'd merely temporarily left and might come back sometime. This is horribly unexpected. I never like it when I learn one of us has passed away. It just shouldn't happen. And on top of that, we lose out on so much more potential too.
Well, for now, I can only think to say, "May he rest in peace", and that doesn't seem enough in the grand scheme of things. Thank you for telling me, at least.
5679242
Yeah the movie was just wasted potential in general. It does make me wonder what the direction of the plot would have been if the writers had free reign.
Maybe they meant Hypoborean?
B is for Basil, assaulted by Basilisks